Defying Gravity Book Review

Defying Gravity

By

Cherie Reich

Book Review by C. Neuroticus Absolutus

Defying Gravity is the story of star-crossed romance as it begins to boil between two young space travelers, Linia and Alezandros. The erudite Linia, a linguist and student of alien languages, is from Persea, a lush green world of plenty. Her heartthrob Alezandros is from Medusa, a dying world whose reptilian inhabitants once again seek to steal verdant Persea from it's native people. Thrown together by fate and the throes of war, Linia and Alezandros are sucked through a wormhole, captured and held in adjoining cells by Earthlings who plan to barbecue them as soon as they are fattened up a bit. They become friends as they talk to each other through a tear in the wall between their cells. Within scant hours, they find themselves comforting each other and becoming insatiably attracted to one another . They plan to escape at the first opportunity. But even if they manage to escape their captors, they' might never be able to return home if they can't find the wormhole that brought them here. Further, once home, their families will never accept their inter-species union.

The first of a trilogy of novelette-length stories, Defying Gravity makes a giant leap into interplanetary fiction for author Cherie Reich who has also published A to Z Flashes of Foxwick and The Women of Foxwick. Both of these forays into the fantasy fiction genre are charming five-star tales, well written with an excellent sense of continuity and likeable characters.
The change in point-of-view from chapter to chapter in Defying Gravity is refreshing and is handled well. Continuity from scene to scene and chapter to chapter is good throughout the book and the story flows well. Descriptions like, “She's as boring as a hibernating slog,” and “. . .sharp, pointed teeth peering from behind his lips,” bring Ms. Reich's sharp visions to the page for the reader to enjoy. And the cute ploy of using the color, vibrancy and temperament of Linia's antennae to visually display her moods and emotions is endearing.

However, Ms. Reich's journey into science fiction does not reach the level of military or technical expertise concerning interplanetary travelers and their vehicles required to bring the story into the five-star category. Still, her characters are well developed, her premise is credible and her writing, which at times is quite humorous, keeps the reader turning pages. A bit more polish would easily bring Defying Gravity to a five-star rating. As it stands, I'll give it four stars.